Established in Brooklyn in 2004, Sixpoint have helped shape the US craft beer industry and are soon to be sharing their hop-forward formulations across the UK. Although now a well-known name in craft beer, they came from humble beginnings, in what they coin the ‘rough and tumble’ neighborhood of Red Hook, BKLYN. They were initially seen as a cult brewery; draft only, small batch, and hyper-local. And it wasn’t until 2010 that they released their creations in cans (or ‘Nanokegs’ as they call them).
Craft beer in cans is now commonplace, but when Sixpoint released their beers in the nanokeg in 2010 they were one of the first. Despite that most of the industry used bottles, Sixpoint saw some uncanny advantages to this alternate vessel, and like all things Sixpoint, their decision is based on scientific reasoning: if beer is best out of kegs, then surely the closest second must be a can.
What’s the method to their Mad Science?
From the Mad Scientists themselves: “Mad Science is the foundation of Sixpoint creativity, and defines our formulation. We begin with a solid bedrock of scientific knowledge, add doses of unbridled creativity, and come out the other end with wholly new formulations.
Our philosophy is demonstrated in our formulation. We don’t reverse-engineer beers, to shoot at established guidelines, like, say, creating a brown ale. Instead, we visualize what a beer could be — how it could taste, smell, look and feel — and then set out, through a blend of art and science, to create it. Mad Scientists always look to the future and re-define boundaries.
Our creativity is not shackled to style guidelines, because style simply has no guidelines... It’s Mad Science.”
Beer is culture
Also central to the Sixpoint philosophy is the ideology that Beer is Culture. Sixpoint recognise that beer is literally a living thing, made up of the live cultures of microorganisms that create the wonderful flavour profiles. This sentiment, that beer is connected to culture, actually goes back to the dawn of civilization as we know it. Societies started to form around 10,000 years ago, as agriculture began to replace hunting and gathering. The creation of crude fermented beverages made from grain is arguably one of the key reasonables for the abandonment of that nomadic lifestyle.
Sixpoint’s beers are widely accessible in the US (and soon the UK) to be enjoyed in bars, pubs, homes, and any meeting place in between. And of course in all those places there are people talking politics, art, music, and sport...sounds like culture to us!
How to spot them
The Sixpoint logo is a fusion of the nautical star and the German Brauerstern. The nautical star is a homage to the company’s heritage and roots of Red Hook, Brooklyn. Red Hook is an old port town, and the nautical star was a mythical symbol which supposedly helped guide sailors home safely. The German Brauerstern was an ancient mark of quality for German Brewers, and the official symbol of the Brewer’s Guild, one of the first trade guilds in Europe.
Put the two together and you have a symbol of two-fold power… look for the Sixpoint Star to guide you directly to great beer.
You don’t just need to use the star though, we can guide you to Sixpoint too! Come find us at Stand 41 of Craft Beer Rising in London between the 22nd and 24th of February to experience the formulations for yourself. And if you are keen to meet the team and discuss being one of the next UK venues to stock Sixpoint, get in touch at www.heathwick.com/contact